THE BAJ'J
Opinion
THE BATTALION
7B
Thursday, April 11, 2002
Un r EDITORIAL
What Kind of
President?
With the selection of a University president looming, Texas
,&M undeniably finds itself at a defining moment. The turning
oint Aggies face is not as visible as when women were first
dmitted or the Corps made noncompulsory, but it is a historic
hange just the same. The next A&M president must be a man or
oman of strong character, with the vision and strength to main-
in the University's unique sense of traditions, while moving
thead to remain competitive with peer institutions.
It is not contradictor to believe that A&M can keep its tradi-
jons and spirit and simultaneously grow as outlined in Vision
020. Whoever takes the helm as president must have a firm
nderstanding of this. A leader who will openly and genuinely
mbrace the traditions that unite this campus is essential to
uide the students through change. The loss of Aggie Bonfire
as had far-reaching effects on students who are re-examining
/hat makes being an Aggie special. To ignore the importance of
raditions would be a devastating blow to A&M history. To
ecome a top public university at the cost of Aggie spirit and
amaraderie would leave only a shell of what the A&M former
itudents are so proud of.
A&M needs a president who will support institutional change
to improve academics.
Students should take another look at the idea that the changes
outlined in Vision 2020 will eradicate what makes A&M unique,
be new memte Being academically superior to other schools and diversifying
the University will not make A&M, "UT-College Station" or
'Harvard on the Brazos." As long as the Aggie spirit is passed
down from class to class, A&M will always be unique for its
emphasis on tradition and the other education. Convincing stu
dents of this is not easy, and for that reason a president with a
strong understanding of tradition and progress is imperative.
Equally, the necessity of a leader with a strong vision for how
to achieve diversity cannot be understated.
There is much to be expected of the next University president.
Above all, he or she would ideally live up to the standards set by
past presidents, such as James Earl Rudder, whose legacy is
inscribed by his statue: "... In all he did, he demonstrated
uncommon ability to inspire men, and lead them to exceptional
achievement."
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THE BATTALION
Miuging Editor
Opinion Editor
News Editor
News Editor
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor in Chief \ Mariano Castillo
Brian Ruff Member Melissa Bedsole
Cayla Carr Member Jonathan Jones
Sommer Bunce Member Jennifer Lozano
Brandie Liffick Member Kelln Zimmer
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or less
'nil include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor
reserves the right to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submit-
red in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be
resiled to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS nil, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
^843-1 111. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com
■ axctix
At
wtalion shows
)r <Hsraeli bias
Response to Chad Mai lam's
r'editorial cartoon:
message portrayed by the
feature in Tuesday's Battalion
quite outrageous in that it
quates an honorable freedom
f u 8gle against a brutal Zionist
jcupation — in the face of an
r e jwhelming military power, I
T? ht add — with a despicable
J* Savior (anti-semitism).
* e message conveyed plays
. In t° the hands of the U.S.
Lh Srae *' lobby, which
Jo t L U k te< % raises questions as
for 6 imentions °f the author.
tved° Ur ' n ^ ormat ' on ' Jews have
jluri n ^ ra k soc 'eties for cen-
■on* 5 l n< ^ as 3 community have
r outed positively to the
if^ce of these nations.
|}) a i Oreover r this attack on the
I s mian freedom struggle is
only the latest in what
amounts into a pattern of den
igration by the author, relayed
by The Battalion, of many
Muslim causes.
This is not the first time The
Battalion has carelessly dis
played such disrespect for the
minorities that are an integral
part of the Aggie family. This
attitude goes against the
University policy of fostering a
welcoming environment at A&M
for minorities. Rather, it perpet
uates false and prejudicial
stereotypes about Muslim
minorities in general and Arab
students in particular.
As a collegiate newspaper
partly funded by our tuition, one
has to expect from The
Battalion a higher standard of
conduct that complies with
University policies.
Hicham Bouzekri
Class of 2002
Digital degrees?
Distance education cheapens all A&M diplomas
T exas AMC, which
became Texas A&M
University in 1963,
was founded for one pur
pose — to be an affordable
institution of higher educa
tion for the residents of
Texas, “where the leading object shall be,
without excluding other scientific and
classical studies and including military
tactics, to teach such branches of learning
as are related to agriculture and the
mechanic arts.”
Recently, Texas A&M chose glamour
and dollar signs over traditional education.
Part of this headline pursuit is through
increased graduate and distance education
programs. While cat cloning has its place,
graduate-level programs should not grow
at the expense of solid undergraduate stud
ies at Texas A&M.
Vision 2020, that enigma shrouded in
political spin, calls for distinct changes in
the undergraduate/graduate make up of
Texas A&M. According to Vision 2020,
“Texas A&M cannot assume that ‘the Aggie
spirit’ will continue to lure the quantity and
quality of graduate students into graduate
programs.” To the authors of Vision 2020,
the solution was to change what education
at Texas A&M, or by Texas A&M, will
mean. Those who drafted the document
foresaw a future where pupil-professor
interaction is reduced to bits and bytes, and
rates charged to students are unregulated.
The number of degrees offered off
campus at A&M is growing. A master’s
MATTHEW MADDOX
in mathematics, a 36-hour
course graded by projects
and take-home tests and
taught through video, recent
ly was added to a list of
seven degrees offered by
Texas A&M. This continues
toward the goals set forth by the Vision
2020 committees. Vision 2020 aims to
have one-fifth of the student population
pursuing master’s degrees. Of those stu
dents, Vision 2020 states that half should
be in distance education courses and one-
fifth of those students not be located with
in the United States. Vision 2020 also
calls for 75 percent of all graduate stu
dents not to be from Texas A&M and half
not be from Texas undergraduate schools.
The authors are not bad people; many
are highly respected community leaders.
However, parts of Vision 2020 are misguid
ed. Vision 2020 calls for the establishment
of more multi-million dollar tenured pro
fessorships. There is arguably little value in
retaining millionaire educators when the
closest they get to students is through a
computer screen. Distance education stu
dents, while saving money by not being
required to pay various local fees, will
undoubtedly pay through the nose in other
ways. In regard to distance education, the
authors of Vision 2020 wrote, “Continuing
education is attractive in that the
Coordinating Board does not regulate it.
Texas A&M can charge what the market
will bear, and high-quality information jus
tifies high fees and tuition.” This not only
FRANK CHANCE • THE BATTALION
sounds unscrupulous, but it appears to go
against the Aggie spirit.
Investments in campus improvements
are not slowing in the face of fewer Aggies
in Aggieland. A new campus garage, new
athletic and academic facilities, an under
pass and a proposed light rail system are at
various stages of completion at A&M.
Vision 2020 also suggests an increase of
$40 million to $70 million dollars will be
required for distance education to be fully
realized. Meanwhile, fewer students in the
Bryan-College Station area will reduce the
local economic outlook.
Distance education courses have their
place, but awarding entire degrees from
Texas A&M to students who may have
never stepped foot on campus diminishes
the Aggie experience and cheapens the
diplomas of those who have passed
before. It would be difficult to say that
Texas Tech, a leader in distance education
courses, has gained prestige with the abun
dance of these classes. However, Tech stu
dents otherwise would be faced with
studying in Lubbock. Future Aggies of all
academic stripes should be encouraged not
only to obtain their degree from A&M, but
encouraged to attend here as well. The
question remains: Can a person get his or
her Aggie ring through email?
Matthew Maddox is a sophomore
business administration major.
French Jews face violence
MELISSA FRIED
F rance appears to be
caught between a
rock and a hard
place. Long thought of as
the “land of good food,
good wine and great fash
ion,” a rising trend of
anti-Semitism threatens to overshadow
the better virtues of France. It is truly
saddening to know that as the nation
remembers the most atrocious and
heinous acts of ethnic cleansing of the
20th century, the Holocaust, French Jews
may be en route to a similar fate if their
aggressors are not immediately met with
firm and direct opposition.
Hate crimes happen more often than we
think — even in the United States. But
what makes these crimes in France unusual
is their correlation to the ever-escalating
violence in the Middle East, particularly
between Israelis and Palestinians.
French Muslims, in retaliation to the
actions of the Israeli government against
Palestinians, are waging “war” with the
wrong enemy. Synagogues have been
burned in Marseille and Strasbourg. In
Toulouse, a kosher butcher’s shop was
fired on, and in Villeurbanne, a Jewish
couple was injured in an attack; the
woman was pregnant. Petrol bombs have
been launched into Jewish sports clubs
and cemeteries.
These are only four examples out of
hundreds of attacks that have
been staged against France’s
600,000 Jews, the largest pop
ulation of Jews in Western
Europe. It is not the French
Jews with whom the perpetra
tors have a problem, but rather
the Israelis. As French President Jacques
Chirac and a Palestinian representative
from Paris pointed out, French Muslims
must not “translate their hatred for the
Israeli government ... into hatred of the
Jews of France.”
French Jews claim allegiance to their
homeland of France, as was the com
pelling case for German Jews during the
Nazi-Era. French Jews abide by the same
codified set of French laws, speak French
and maintain regional French customs. If
French Muslims wish to voice their dis
sent for the Israeli government, and it is
obvious that they do, then there are
peaceful ways to do so without turning
against their countrymen and turning
France into a dangerous playground for a
battle between ideological and religious
principles.
Elie Wiesel, in an essay written in the
aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, said, “Collective blame is unwar
ranted and unjust.” French Muslims,
rather than collectively reacting against
French Jews who have very few ties to
Israel, must realize that their actions are
as brutal as how they perceive the Israeli
government’s actions toward
Palestinians. If French Muslims feel the
need to scream bloody murder about
Israelis waging war with civilians and
disallowing certain freedoms and rights
of Arab populations, French Muslims
must acknowledge that they, too, are
waging war with civilians and infringing
on their rights.
Amid the uproar, there are a few
heroes. French Prime Minister Lionel
Jospin is one of them. He has recognized
the awesome role France can play in mit
igating the entire Middle East process:
by the way of leading by example. The
people of the Middle East will never
achieve the peace they seek until they
learn to live among each other and not
against each other. France, with its
unique composition of Jews and
Muslims, can either choose to travel
down the trodden path of chaos and
destruction or demonstrate how two
groups can live together peacefully, side
by side, in a shared homeland.
In a world where there are no
absolutes, we must continue to strive for
that which is ideal. And to all those who
strive, Shalom Aleichem, may peace be
with you.
Melissa Fried is a freshman
international studies major.